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After two years at the gaol, Wood applied for a transfer to the Northern Territory Mounted Police and in
June 1915 became a Constable in Darwin, staying there until 1917. Next, he was transferred to Katherine to take
charge of the police station and stayed there until August 1919, when he was transferred back to Darwin.
On 7 October 1919, he married Alice Julia Brown, daughter of Darwin businessman E V V Brown, at the
Darwin Methodist Church. They eventually had three children, only one of whom survived into adulthood.
After returning from leave in 1920, he was posted to Darwin, then from 1922 to 1925 was at Brock’s Creek.
In July 1923, he went on a 26-day patrol of over 880 kilometres to Oenpelli and Goulburn Island, searching for
escaped prisoners. He and his Aboriginal assistants found the prisoners at Goulburn Island and the Administrator
commended him for his good work.
After some leave in 1925, Wood was posted to Pine Creek, then in October 1926 he temporarily replaced
Sergeant Lovegrove in charge of Katherine Police Station. When Lovegrove returned, Wood stayed on to assist
him and was at Katherine when the new police station was erected in 1928. In November 1928 he was promoted to
Sergeant, then spent some time in Darwin waiting for a country posting. Early in April 1930, he was again posted
to Katherine and remained there until he retired.
Katherine in the early 1930s was a small town with an Aboriginal camp on the outskirts. Like other policemen
in small country towns, Wood’s work was very varied and included helping the local unemployed, issuing rations to
the elderly and sick Aborigines, shoeing police horses, inspecting slaughter houses and butchers’ shops, registering
dogs, selling deceased estates, attending the arrival and departure of the weekly train, checking hotel premises
when the sale of liquor was prohibited, searching for missing people, dealing with murders, assaults, destitutes,
drivers’ licences and opium smoking, arranging burials and funerals of murder victims, escorting prisoners to
Darwin Gaol, taking Aborigines to the Kahlin Compound and to hospital in Darwin, escorting the railway pay,
dealing with applications from white men to marry Aboriginal women, naturalization papers, lost and found
property, illegal gambling, debtors and train accidents, keeping records of dingoes destroyed, stopping fights,
taking drunken people home or arresting them, looking after prisoners in the police station lock up, retrieving
bodies from the river, locating tax evaders, assisting other visiting policemen, investigating cattle thieving and
serving court summons. He was Clerk and Bailiff of the local Court, had to provide information on a wide range
of matters to the authorities in Darwin and often appeared as a witness at court cases in Darwin.
He was assisted by Aboriginal trackers, particularly Grant, and travelled around the Katherine area on horseback,
by buggy or sulky, frequently patrolling around town until after the hotels closed. As with other Northern Territory
policemen, his wife played an important role helping him, particularly ‘holding the fort’ while he was away on
patrol.
Author Bill Harney wrote that the locals and Aborigines gave him the nickname ‘Woganyarra’, meaning
moustache and prawn, because he had a moustache and was like one of the giant prawns of the river which hide
then dart out upon their prey. Like the prawns, Wood would often lurk around town and turn up unexpectedly,
causing consternation among wrong doers. He was also affectionately known as ‘old Bob’. Harney wrote of
Wood’s gruff kindness to him and other unemployed men. Local doctor Frank McCann wrote of Wood’s dry
humour, shown on the occasion when he joined a group of locals in the hotel, then left and returned after closing
time to arrest them for after hours drinking. Clyde Fenton, the flying doctor based at Katherine from 1934, had
some differences with Wood but shared his strong dislike for bureaucrats and officialdom.
During the 1930s Depression there were a number of protests by unemployed men in Darwin and Wood was
one of the country policemen called in to deal with protesters; his earlier experiences with striking Blantyre
miners in Scotland probably influenced his actions. A well known incident in which he was involved occurred on
3 May 1930 when he was in charge of a group of police and special constables who removed a group of protesting
unemployed men from the verandah of the Administrator’s office. Accounts of Wood’s role vary: some praised
him for bravery, while others condemned him for his violence. The Northern Territory Times and Gazette reported
that the revolt was quelled almost single handed by Wood, while the Northern Standard condemned him for
ferociously attacking defenceless unemployed men with his baton and for the way he threw the men’s belongings
off the verandah. Several protesters were arrested and placed in prison, where they sang, ‘We will hang Sergeant
Wood on a sour apple tree, for his baton we don’t give a damn’.
In 1934, Wood was transferred to Borroloola after a clash with his superiors; however, he appealed successfully
and stayed at Katherine. Despite some other clashes with the authorities, he was promoted to Sergeant First Class
in December 1937.
When war came, he was too old to enlist but offered to forego his leave ‘on account of the critical state of the
Empire and the War’. His offer was refused and he went on leave in October 1941. While he was away, he was
called upon to retire because of his age. He fought this and was so angry that he even wrote to the Governor General
but to no avail. He was 61 and had completed 28 years’ public service in the Northern Territory. The Administrator
acknowledged his long and good record of service but some of Wood’s superiors were relieved to be free of this
sometimes difficult man.
Wood was bitter about how he had been treated and retired to live at Glenelg in South Australia. For a few years
in the 1940s, he farmed in Tasmania, then returned to Glenelg. He died of a heart condition on 3 October 1953,
aged 76, and was survived by his wife Alice and son Robert.
Wood was a heavily built man of average height. He spoke with a rich Scottish accent, had a good singing
voice, a large moustache and a dry and unusual sense of humour. When young he was a champion wrestler, runner
and footballer. He loved horses, was proud of his horsemanship and, according to his son, enjoyed nothing more
than going off on long patrols.